Chloe speaks out for first time buyers

Chloe Smith, MP for Norwich North, today is asking Treasury Ministers what steps they plan to take to better support people with savings and home ownership.

 

Nationally nearly 270,000 households have been helped to purchase a home through Government backed schemes including Right to Buy and Help to Buy since 2010.

 

Going forward, the Lifetime ISA will help young people save flexibly for the long-term throughout their lives. Simultaneously saving for a first home and for retirement means young people will no longer be forced to choose one at the expense of the other. The Lifetime ISA is designed to work with the grain of existing ISA products and will be simple for savers to use.

 

Chloe said:

 

“The Help to Buy scheme has had a life changing impact for thousands of people, and I welcome the introduction of the Lifetime ISA. The gap though between house prices and salaries for young people in Norwich and across the UK remains far higher than a generation ago.

 

“We need to maintain the focus on closing the gap to support those looking to buy their first home. A growing economy has allowed wages to rise and is funding the largest Government investment in affordable house building since the 1970s.”

 

The measures announced in the recent Spending Review doubles the investment in housing to more than £20 billion over the next five years. There are plans to build 1 million homes in total by 2020. £8 billion will be made available to build over 400,000 affordable homes, including £2.3 billion towards building 200,000 starter homes. Starter homes will be available specifically for young first-time buyers and will be sold at 20 per cent market discount.